Art Isn’t Therapy—It’s Rebellion With a Paintbrush

Blog 3 of 10 from the Truth Bomb Series by Jools Teare

Let’s get something straight:
I love art.
I love therapy.
But they are not the same bloody thing.

Art can be healing, yes.
But not because it’s gentle.
Not because it whispers.
Art heals because it lets you scream without getting arrested.

Art isn’t a scented candle—it’s a goddamn protest sign.

🖕 "Aww, Your Art Must Be So Therapeutic"

How many times have I heard that line?
Usually from someone looking at one of my drag queen paintings while clutching a Cath Kidston handbag like it might protect them from Divine’s eyeshadow.

Here’s the thing:
When I paint, I’m not soothing myself with watercolours and lavender oil.
I’m cracking open old truths.
I’m exposing the layers I was told to hide.
I’m throwing glitter at the patriarchy and calling it a business plan.

🧨 Therapy Is Healing. Art Is Honesty.

Therapy holds you while you sob.
Art throws a fucking spotlight on what made you sob in the first place.
It doesn’t ask permission. It doesn’t wait for the right moment.
It kicks the door in wearing sequins and says: “Right, let’s talk about shame then, shall we?”

Art gets in where the polite conversations can’t.
It bypasses the filters. It tells the truth you didn’t know you were allowed to say out loud.

Especially if you're neurodivergent. Especially if you're queer. Especially if you've been squashing yourself into polite boxes your whole damn life.

👑 Making Art Is Power, Not Passivity

Every stroke of the brush, every weird collage, every glittery fuck-you to the rules—
it’s not just an expression.
It’s a reclamation.

When I create, I’m not just painting.
I’m saying:

• I exist.

• I refuse to be small.

• I am not here to be pretty or palatable.

• I will not filter myself to make you comfortable.

That’s not therapy. That’s fucking warfare.

✊ To My Fellow Misfits With Messy Sketchbooks

You don’t have to explain why you made what you made.

You don’t have to justify that abstract painting to your aunt Karen.
You don’t have to turn your sketchbook into a trauma memoir for it to be valid.

Make what’s inside you—even if it’s weird, offensive, loud, chaotic, silly, broken, or all of the above.
Make it anyway.
Make it especially because it scares you.

Your rebellion might just be what saves someone else.

💭 Power-Up Prompt:

What truth have you never dared to paint, sculpt, or stitch—because you were scared of who it might offend?

💋 Want Some Art That Says “F*ck You, I’m Glorious”?

My shop is full of rebellion, glitter, and not a single pastel motivational quote in sight.
Own a piece of truth. Hang power on your walls.